HANCOCK COUNTY — A county nonprofit promoting breastfeeding seeks to reach more new and expectant mothers.
The Hancock County Breastfeeding Coalition, an affiliate of the Indiana Breastfeeding Coalition, in 2018 aims to increase the knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding through outreach, education and lactation stations at the county’s largest events, the Hancock County 4-H Fair and the Riley Festival. Changed meeting times should also make the group more accessible to stay-at-home moms.
While the county coalition has had a dedicated core group of about 10 members since its inception in 2009, its members are seeking new volunteers and members to help the community learn about breastfeeding and dispel misconceptions, said co-president Amanda Hinkle.
“We want to normalize breastfeeding and make sure places of employment are supportive of allowing their mothers a place and a time to pump,” Hinkle said. “We also want to make sure places of business, retail, restaurants and more are supportive in allowing women to breastfeed while they are visiting.”
The breastfeeding coalition has planned a number of efforts to raise awareness of its mission, including informational campaigns on social media, Hinkle said. The group this year also plans to combine its events celebrating Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August.
Every year, the group conducts a “Big Latch On,” the first Saturday in August, where women gather to breastfeed in solidarity and offer peer support to one another, as well as a free luncheon for local moms and supporters of the coalition. This year, the moms’ luncheon and the Big Latch On will be conducted simultaneously with the hopes of increasing attendance to both events.
“It’s a celebration for them to recognize their dedication to breastfeeding,” she said. “We provide childcare and let moms focus on themselves and get pampered for an hour.”
Coalition members hope by changing their meeting times to a daytime meeting also will help more stay-at-home moms join the organization, Hinkle said. The coalition typically meets at 5 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month in the cafeteria of Hancock Regional Hospital, but starting in April the meeting will be at noon with the room to be determined, she said.
According to Indiana law, moms may breastfeed their babies anywhere they’re allowed to be present. The law in the Hoosier state also says companies should provide reasonable paid breaks for an employee to express breast milk for her infant and should make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, where the employee can pump in private, as well as a refrigerator to store breast milk in.
Coalition volunteers provide education to high school health classes once a semester and work to educate daycare employees on how to handle breast milk and making sure they’re allowing breastfeeding mothers to bring in breast milk, Hinkle said.
The group also provides a private tent at the Riley Festival and the county fair, called a lactation station, where moms can find a quiet place to feed their babies or change their diapers, said co-president Stephanie Benson.
Having lactation stations allow those visiting the events to be able to stay for a longer period of time, Hinkle said.
“It provides a private, comfortable place for mothers to nurse while they are enjoying the fair and Riley (Festival),” she said. “There’s really no other place for them to go, other than their car.”
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Hancock County Breastfeeding Coalition
Meets 5 p.m. on the third Tuesday of odd months at the cafeteria in Hancock Regional Hospital, 801 N. State St., and noon on the third Tuesday of even months at the hospital, room to be determined.
For more information, contact co-president Amanda Hinkle at [email protected] or 317-468-4653.
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